Venkat Ramakrishnan

#bengaluru, are you listening? #tech #ai #datacenter

22 books read in 2026. How about you? #amreading #rapidreader #putinpractice

My mood today.

Your system design knowledge: Kafka Redis Kubernetes API Gateway Load Balancer Microservices Distributed Tracing Consistent Hashing Database Sharding CQRS Saga Pattern Event Sourcing Service Mesh Circuit Breaker Interview decision: Sorry, we need someone who can explain what happens when the database becomes slow. Knowing architecture terms does not mean you understand production systems. I have seen engineers explain Kafka partitions, consumer groups, and offset commits beautifully, then use Kafka for a flow where a normal database table and a cron job would have worked. They knew the tool. They did not know the pain it was supposed to solve. Real system design is not asking: “What technology should I use?” It is asking: “What is the simplest thing that satisfies the current requirement without creating 10 new problems?” For example: 1. Why do we need async processing here? Not “because Kafka is scalable.” But is the user waiting on this action? Can this work happen later? What happens if the worker fails? Can the job be retried safely? Will duplicate processing break anything? Because async systems are not free. They improve latency for the user, but they also add queues, retries, DLQs, visibility delays, duplicate events, and debugging pain. 2. Why do we need caching? Not “because Redis is fast.” Is the database actually slow? Is this read-heavy traffic? Can the data be stale? What is the cache TTL? What happens during cache stampede? Who invalidates the cache when data changes? A bad cache can make your system faster and more wrong at the same time. 3. Why do we need microservices? Not “because services scale independently.” Is the team large enough? Are the domain boundaries clear? Can each service own its data? Do we really need independent deployments? Or are we just turning function calls into network calls? A monolith with clean modules is often better than 15 services with bad ownership. 4. Why do we need sharding? Not “because data is huge.” How much data do we actually have? What is the growth rate? Can indexes, partitioning, or read replicas solve this first? What is the shard key? What happens when one tenant becomes too large? How do we rebalance? Sharding is easy to say and painful to operate. 5. Why do we need eventual consistency? Not “because distributed systems.” Which data can be delayed? For how long? What does the user see during that delay? Can the business tolerate temporary mismatch? What needs strong consistency no matter what? A shopping cart count can be eventually consistent. A bank balance probably should not be treated casually. The best engineers are not the ones who name the most tools. They are the ones who can say: “We do not need Kafka yet.” “We should start with PostgreSQL.” “Redis will create more problems here.” “This should stay in the monolith.” “This part needs strong consistency.” “That part can be async.” That is real senior engineering. Not building the most impressive architecture diagram. But knowing which complexity to avoid until the problem has truly earned it.

❗️🇫🇷 Following the French government's ban on Windows and its replacement with Linux, French activists are now saying goodbye to Windows 10 and actively encouraging people to embrace freedom and use Linux instead of paying for an upgrade to Windows 11, citing privacy concerns.

Most people skip forearms because they don’t look important enough. Then their grip gives up before their back does.
Their wrists feel weak on presses.
Their curls stall because they can’t control the weight. But honestly, wrist curls and reverse wrist curls are some of the most underrated moves in the gym. Palms up for the wrist flexors.
Palms down for the wrist extensors. Slow reps. Two sets. Twice a week. If you’re a beginner, this can make every upper-body lift feel more controlled. If you've been lifting for years, this is usually the exercise standing between you and a pain-free elbow. Plus, they help with heavier pulls, better carries, cleaner curls, and stronger holds. Do not skip small muscles. They have a big carryover.

Breathing.

@holasaranyahere Ask them to argue against themselves and watch the fun!

currently hanging out with 2 laywers, what should I ask them?

@blublubluberri Depends on where you are. If you are in Bengaluru, I would suggest taking KSTDC package.

Guys where should i go on my first solo trip ever (2-3 days at max, domestic, around july)

All in a day's life!

Companies should build quarters for employees to occupy. #Bengaluru

Who takes a break from reading a book by reading another book? 🙋‍♂️

@krithikasivasw It's 34 in Bengaluru. Feels like shows 38. But UV is very high, suggesting not to venture out.

Chennai is Burning.

#Bengaluru #Traffic Alert With more than 30k people participating in the TCS World 10K Marathon on Sunday in the central part of the city, the traffic police have imposed following restrictions 👇 Plan accordingly @timesofindia

@FormigaIsabelle Looks like AI-generated. Also, any space without exposure to natural sunlight is 🚫

HOMENS me sejam sinceros! Isso aqui é suficiente pra vocês? Viveriam de boas? É pro meu TCC. 👀😌

@ritujoon2j 2 times - one at 6:45, and another at 11:00.

@flyvenkat How many cups in a day?

Are you a tea person or a coffee person?

@Somya_Crazy They also need to learn that 'No beam' is not okay in the nights!

when will people learn the concept of low beam, high beam!?

Towards women inspiration, women motivation, and women empowerment, in this episode of shorts in The Women Inspire Aspire Podcast, Meera Nair talks about beginning dance practice: youtube.com/shorts/shGVfqi… Please subscribe to this channel for more awesome podcasts!

There's a rumor going on that those who couldn't vote on 23rd can vote on 28th! Be careful! 😝

@amoghak_ They are ordering coffee, that'll be delivered through Swiggy? 😝

maybe i'll start asking people in coffeeshops what they're doing on their laptops